Are the domestic problems the main culprit behind most suicides in Air Force?

13 Dec, 2013

An application was filed with the Ministry of Defence under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the information about the number of deaths in all the three forces – army, navy and air force, their reasons – natural and otherwise and the rank in which deaths have taken place in the past 20 years.

Though the applicant hasn't received any reply from the Army, the reply from naval forces says that 330 unnatural deaths have occurred in the force in past 20 years.

Relatively comprehensive reply from the Air Force states that domestic woes has come out as the major reason for suicides in the force. The data shows that 29 suicides were committed by the air force members during the period from 2006 to November, 2013. Out of these, 17 deaths were because of stress caused by domestic problems. Apart from this, failed love affair, financial stress, etc. were among the other reasons for suicidal deaths in the force. The reply shows that most number of suicides (6) were committed in 2008, followed by five suicides in 2009. The number of such deaths ranged from 2 to 4 in other years.

The RTI applicant has suggested that regular counselling of the personnel and their family members could come in handy to lessen their work pressure and improve their family life, thus putting a check on the suicidal tendencies of the personnel.